But It Doesn't End There
by NuclearSquid
Summary: Taking place after the Once-ler finishes his story, the departing words of their parents leave both Oncie and Greed to their own forms of coping; however Greed's "solution" to earn it back leads to catastrophic results.
1. Chapter 1

Oncie stepped forward from a shadowed niche as the ray of light that lifted the Lorax finally faded and allowed the smoggy sky to close in on itself.

"So..." Oncie spoke, even though Greed hadn't turned from his gaze. "I guess we're done."

The man slowly lowered his head. "...I need to see mom and dad," he spoke in an unusually soft voice, hands anxiously fiddling with the brim of his hat.

* * *

The false laughter of desperate pleading.

Things being packed away and a car door slamming.

"Oncie, you have _disappointed_ me for the last time."

Dust billowing up and settling as they drove away, followed by the silence when the cart finally disappeared over the hill.

A long silence.

Oncie shakily moved towards his friend again, as stunned and hurt as the other.

"They... They only cared when we were making them money...?" He felt his eyes as tears began to form, desperately wanting to deny it. Greedler strode away back to the factory.

"W-where are you going?" Oncie turned, sniffing once.

"Back to work."

"...What? But we're _done_! Can't you see that? There's no more truffulas for miles!"

Greed stormed past, ignoring his statement as he made towards a group of employees who were leaving the plant. "Where are _you_ all going?" he snarled.

"Sir? There's no more truffula fluff left. We were getting our gas masks to go hom-"

"_Back inside!_" he spat, making the men jump. "I have enough money to keep this company moving yet! So get BACK INSIDE!"

The frightened men scurried back from whence they came. "Greed, I don't-"

"Oncie, get back upstairs where it's safe."

"Safe..? But-"

"_NOW!_"

Oncie cringed, frightened from the outburst, but did as he was told; rushing back into the factory and towards Greed's living quarters. The man had his moods, but this felt off.

He paused for a moment to let workers rush past with a section of metal wall and machinery, surprised that they already had tasks to do, but baffled as to what it could be. 'What the hell is he doing...?' he stopped, about to follow them when he heard the clacking echoes of expensive shoes walking down the hall. The musician turned on his heels and hurried along the rest of the way, worried what would happen if he had been caught lingering around instead of following an order.

* * *

He nervously paced the room for hours, glancing out the windows every so often to glimpse down at the huge trucks that drove underneath into the main factory, their containers filled to the brim with massive sheets of metal and machine parts. 'Give him time,' Oncie told himself over and over, biting his lip with concern. 'He won't leave you in the dark forever. Everything will be okay, he-'

_"You trust me, don't you?"_ came the ghost in his head.

"O-of course I do..." Oncie spoke to no one at all, pressing a hand against the glass as he lowered his eyes. "...I trust you because I love you..."

He let out a sigh, feeling a little more at ease though the sounds of heavy construction could now be heard from every angle of the office. Taking up his old guitar he sat on their bed to wait, smiling softly and strung a few chords before the voice of his mother suddenly rang through his head and made him pluck the wrong string.

_"You've disappointed me..."_ it taunted again and again through the empty bedroom.

Squeezing the neck of the instrument, the musician finally flopped back onto the sheets and tossed the guitar aside; too upset for once in his life to sing. He pushed his hands against his face and fought to hold back tears as he let out a sob.

_They both had tried so hard to make them proud..._

He coughed, unable to restrain himself any longer, and wept aloud. If Greed was here, he thought, he wouldn't let anyone do this. No one but him could make him cry, and it was never for something like this. Greed would come in and fix everything. He'd make it okay.

Cuts would be bandaged, bruises would be mumbled about in apology, and things broken would be replaced.

Oncie blinked slowly as his eyelids began to get heavier; his hand slipping off the bed and down to the tape around Greed's patch job on his old guitar neck.

_...Or at least he would try his best._


	2. Chapter 2

_Fire._

_ The forest was on fire._

"Greed!" Oncie shouted, barely able to hear his own voice over the roar of the flames. His throat burned from the smoke as he tried to call out again. He needed help; Oncie knew it. "_Greed!_ Where are you?"

Oncie awoke with a start, gasping for breath in cold sweat. Something felt amiss. He looked up to the sound of twinkling crystals as the giant chandelier above settled to a stop as if it had just been swinging.

"...Greed?" he called worriedly, hurrying out of bed when the room gave no answer. His mind felt slow to form coherent thoughts. ...How long had he been asleep?

Oncie pushed open the heavy doors to the office, choosing to now disobey Greed's instructions as his instinct overrode the feeling of commitment to blind trust.

The man froze when the doors banged open and he looked down the large hall. Or...what _had_ been a hall.

The familiar narrow corridor had been stripped away, its ceiling torn off to reveal the bones and guts of the factory; expanded and modified with sharp-toothed gears and ominous metal machines. Sections of what had been meeting rooms and staircases were half-demolished; metal and wiring crawling through the walls and over chairs like some strange disease. Heavy oil was smeared across surfaces at random, and a bent pipe was already dripping out a steady leak near his feet that splattered and stained his jeans. Oncie stumbled over to what he hoped was a structurally sound side of the wall and gazed up with wide eyes, unable to see the top before it dissolved into the darkness.

"...G-greed?" he whispered, voice weak from fear. "What _is_ all this...?"

He balked when the factory roared to life and metal shrieked in reply to the question. A few pieces fell from the roof and a massive piston shook the floor before seizing up and stopping as if stuck.

Outside, he caught a fleeting flicker of green through the thick smoke, seeing the figure throw a worker to the black dirt, obviously enraged from the unauthorized test.

Oncie hurried down the nearest staircase, trying to work his way through the confusing maze to where he had hoped the exit still existed. He pushed himself against the door when it refused to budge, tumbling out into the thick smog as it finally swung open. His instinctive gasp sent him into a coughing fit as his lungs unsuccessfully fought the intake of filthy oxygen and he held up his collar in a pathetic attempt to make a filter.

The deathly air never bothered his friend, Greed actually preferred it, but the fresh oxygen that was paid to be constantly pumped through the factory had been done so out of kindness for the musician. Or at the very least just to silence his wheezing and bitching.

Oncie squinted through the thick clouds, following the familiar shouting although he couldn't see more than a few feet in front at a time. A small pain shot across his arm and Oncie jerked away to see that he had bumped against a massive collection of blades and spikes, jutting out, but curved around what could only be described as an enormous claw.

A squeak of fear caught in his throat as he strained through the smog to see twisted appendages and feet tucked and tangled together like the legs of an dead insect. His bright blue eyes followed them up to the dark shadow of the factory; shoes splashing in another thick puddle of oil as he backed away to try to see the top through the haze.

The... _thing_ that had been the factory looked like a sick dragon; grease and filth gushing from its iron maw and pouring into the lake. The hummingfish left there had long since died, but the amount churning into it now had turned it from filthy water into pure sludge.

Another rumbling roar rose up from the belly of the beast and Oncie's face glowed with a bright orange. Furnaces smoldered between the spaces in the metal before dying out again.

Power saws suddenly stammered out next to him, and his ears pricked to the sound of Greed's angry shouting. He turned in time to see the industrialist land a heavy punch to the construction foreman and knock him to the floor. The man strolled over and yanked him up by the collar to scream in his face.

Oncie swallowed in concern. Greed had never acted so ruthless in public. His false social appearance was absolutely everything to him and his business.

"I don't care _how _you get it done, you imbecilic fool, as long as it's _done quickly_! You're working on _my _dime and I want all these machines running by _tonight_! There's hundreds more like you who are _begging _to work for my wages, so you need to move _FASTER!_" He landed a hard smack to the foreman's face, snarling past shark's teeth.

"Greed..?" Oncie squeaked, unable to hide the fear in his voice as he inched closer; passing by boxes that overflowed with sharp pieces of metal scrap. "G-greed, what are you trying to do..?"

Greedler started, not expecting to hear the other's voice. He released the foreman and turned slowly with a strangely serene smile. The other stopped apprehensively, feeling something wrong in his eyes.

"Darling..." he beamed, voice sweet like honey. "I told you to stay inside... It's late." He made his way over, reaching into his coat pocket for a handkerchief and folding it neatly with a small flourish.

"Late? I-it's barely past noon and..." Oncie shook his head, refusing to be distracted. "What are you _doing_, Greed! The entire factory is _wrong_, it-M-mnfh!"

The silk cloth was held up firmly to his nose and a sweet sickly smell overwhelmed his senses. He let out a confused whimper and felt incredibly, terribly sleepy.

"Ah, but you look so tired, dear," grinned sharp teeth as the world began to dim to black. Oncie fought to focus, but he felt his brain begin to numb as a glove gently thumbed his cheek. "Shhh... I promise I'll make it all better..."


	3. Chapter 3

Oncie's head pulsed with a dull repetitive throb. He shifted, gripping at his hair to make it stop, but was puzzled when he felt silk sheets slide across his arm. _Had he been dreaming?_

He opened his eyes, dizzy as the room slowly came into focus and shapes and colors began to affirm their identities.

A warm spot of oil dripped onto his lap, and Oncie slowly lifted his head in horror.

_No. He was awake._

A tall figure stood confidently outside; hands gripping the balcony as if looking out onto his kingdom. "Gree-" Oncie began, the covers sliding off of him when the floor suddenly pitched back and slammed him roughly against the wall. Oncie glanced about in panic, scratching at the loose sheets when the ground shifted again and sent him tumbling off against a grated window. He clung to the bars, watching in terror as the hills fell away, feeling the heavy sensation of being pushed up and into the burning red sky that glowed from the setting sun.

_They were moving... _he trembled, looking over at Greed whose shoulders were shaking like he was giggling._ Oh, god... The factory was actually moving..._

Oncie crawled on his knees to reach the door, using its frame to stand up and stare out at his friend.

"Are you proud of me _now_, mom and dad!" Greed cried, spreading his arms out wide to the bloody sky. His high-pitched maniacal laughter cackled out over the noise of the creaking machinery; the sound of it sending chills down Oncie's spine.

"Greed!" he shouted, desperate to snap the man out of whatever trance he was in. Far down below, the spots of a few straggling barbaloots ran desperately away from the spinning razors of the factory's gnarled feet. Oncie cringed and looked away when the claw finally overtook them.

"Isn't it _wonderful_, Oncie?" Greed grinned, whirling around to face him with eyes afire like the green pits of hell. "We _never_ have to stop! Every time some place runs out of trees we can just _walk_ the whole factory somewhere else!"

He laughed and danced his fingers across the rusted railing as if it was a tiny ballerina, then copied the dance himself, adding a graceful leap and landing it flawlessly even though the floor lurched again.

"Y-you're mad!" Oncie screamed, holding onto the door for his dear life.

"Ah, ah! But that's not all! Once we run out of trees to harvest, we just keep expanding! We'll never have to worry about going under again! We can skin the swans, the birds, people-"

"_People?_" Oncie nearly lost his grip in shock. "You'd make thneeds out of _people_?"

Greedler laughed as he strode elegantly across the listing floor in perfect balance, grinning as he cupped Oncie's horrified face. The ethereal green smoke billowed out from his stare like smoke from a chimney stack and Oncie strained to pull himself away, afraid of what the ghostly poison would do if it touched his skin.

"Oh, don't you worry, my dear," he beamed, eyes shining with demented affection into bright blue fear. "I would _never _let the machines hurt _you_...You're special." He tapped Oncie's nose like an affectionate mother.

The musician's eyes welled with tears. "I... I have to stop this... I have to stop you..."

Greed only smiled kindly in reply, oblivious of Oncie's distress. He let him slip effortlessly from his hands and watched as he ran away into the heart of the walking machine.

He began to laugh again and the metallic monster hummed and sang along with the industrialist; its churning gears and blades consuming all that was below.

* * *

Oncie nearly fell down the twisting staircase as he ran; desperate to make it back to the office. He finally stumbled when the floor tilted drastically to the left, making him trip on his own feet and slam his head against the massive door. Dizzy and head throbbing, he struggled to stand, staggering inside as the building started to tip to the right.

Realizing that the floor was beginning to slide out from under him, Oncie clambered as fast as he could over to Greedler's massive desk; his hand just managing to grasp the side of the bolted table as he lost his footing and the floor turned into the wall.

Decorations and plants spilled and tumbled past, shattering one of the large French windows now residing under his feet and sending glass and junk to the distant ground below.

Oncie's arms burned, but he pulled himself up; panting as he stretched into the hollow of the desk where Greed had always put his feet. His hand found the familiar grip of the handle to his old axe; the tool having been long hidden right under the industrialist's nose just in case things ever went as horribly wrong as they had now. It was a miracle that the thing hadn't tumbled out with everything else.

The floor leveled itself suddenly, the shift sending a massive crack up through the side of the papered wall and throwing the musician back onto the floor. Oncie took advantage of the moment to run back down toward the relative safety of the hallway, only hesitating when he came back to the spiral stairwell.

A large shuddering rumble let loose some plaster to crumble onto his vest, but the building hadn't been the reason for his pause.

..._Up or down? _Oncie tilted the axe's blade to look into his own frightened reflection, seeing the water shining in his eyes.

He took a deep breath to gather his courage and gripped the handle tighter as he made his decision.

The furnaces roared below from mechanical lungs, breathing with each lumbering stride. A thin silhouette rushed past the fire and down towards its heart, shielding his tear-filled eyes as the pipes cried and strained. Occasionally one broke under the stress, gushing out hot oil or steam onto whirling gears and pistons that paid no mind.

At last, the young man reached the core.

Staring up into a clockwork heart, he sniffed as he readied his axe. Steam billowed and coiled from the vents where filthy water ran through tubes to cool the massive engine. He lifted the small tool and swung as hard as he could, denting a brightly marked panel. Sparks and steam exploded, and the machine screamed with pain. He raised the blade again, the hot steam hurting his face.

_I'm sorry._

WHACK.

_You did this for us._

CRACK.

The damaged sheet of steel fell away, exposing a bundle of cords that crackled and glowed with life. Finally he could see its electric soul. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoisted up the tool for the final time.

Iron connected to the wiring, and a massive firework of energy splintered out in the dark, knocking Oncie back as it spread up the walls like a spider's web.

He slammed against the metal wall like a fabric doll; impact to his skull knocking him out cold as the metal creature seized up and began to collapse around him.


	4. Chapter 4

A soft creaking groaned like an old ship, and Oncie slowly woke to the open, smog-filled sky; its air made only more hazardous by the floating ashes and dust of the machine. His mind struggled to focus on what looked like his old house.

_...Wait... It _was _his old house..._ He squinted, confused, when a female voice suddenly groaned out through the gloom. Oncie pushed himself up slowly, feeling heavy bruises already forming on his body, but he was relieved he was even still alive. The musician felt his way along the jagged metal shards to locate its owner.

"H-here..." strained a figure hunched between two massive gears, her boa caught between the giant metal along with her lower back and legs-huge wig now nothing but a horrid mess.

"..Mom...?" his voice cracked, hurrying over.

"Oh... It's _you_," the figure laughed, struggling to lift her head. Oncie fumbled at the gears to try and lift them off of her, but his fingers slid uselessly under the extreme weight.

His eyes began to water again. "I-I'll get you out... If I just-"

"Oh, _please_." She rolled her eyes. "You're as useless as your father." She tilted her chin towards another pile of rubble. Oncie's eyes widened when he noticed a still hand sticking out near the bottom, palm turned upward. The color drained out from his skin.

"You inherited his naiveté and none of his good business-sense. It's no wonder you turned out more of a failure than he was."

"_Failure_...?" Oncie's mind was refusing to fully process what he was hearing. "M-mom, I love you! I've always tried-"

"Oh, don't you '_I tried..._' me, you little brat. You've always been worthless to me. I actually thought that maybe this once you could actually be of use; but I guess you can't fix what's _broke_, can you?"

Oncie's eyes began to sting, vision clouding up as saline blurred his sight. He stepped back and desperately tried to think of something, anything, to say in reply, but his mind was whirling like a planet spinning off its axis. His back suddenly bumped against a lever jutting out from the broken piece of wall, and he turned, his gaze slowly travelling along the sparking wires and up to the engine that ran the oversized cogs.

"Well, don't just stand there and gape, you dim-witted bastard. I don't even care if you break those skinny little arms getting me out, as long as you do s..." Panic began to rise in her voice as Oncie gripped the steel handle. "Oncie... Oncie dear, what are you doing?"

The young man frowned and turned to face the snobbish woman.

"D-don't you dare, you little brat! I wasted enough of my life raising you and the _least _you owe me-"

"I owe you nothing," Oncie glared; the very hate seething out from red-rimmed eyes. "You never loved us. ...You were a terrible mother." His grip tightened and he yanked the switch, slamming it down to full speed.

The gears sparked to life, releasing a piercing screech as they spun as if the metal monster was giving a last agonizing scream. Its voice blended with the shriek of the woman as she was pulled inside, followed by the sickening crunch of bone and muscle. The cogs sputtered and wobbled from the obstruction in its teeth, finally jamming to a heavy stop when it clogged.

A final silence enveloped the land as the last bit of power finally expired from the iron abomination; dead along with everything else.

Oncie's fingers loosened and slowly slid from their hold, his hand falling limply to his side. He walked weakly out to the dim sunlight; distant to the sound his feet made as they crunched on the black soil and rubble. A speck of green finally broke his trance, and Oncie ran over to throw off fallen wreckage from his friend.

"G-greed! Oh god, Greed, wake up!" Oncie grabbed the man's lapels and started to sob when his head flopped limply about.

A half second passed when suddenly the man groaned and shifted uncomfortably, pinching at the bridge of his nose. Oncie let out an exclamation of overwhelming relief.

"Ughh... Not so lou-A-AH!" Greed flinched in pain when Oncie gripped him in a strong hug, struggling to wedge his hands between to shove him off. "I have a broken _rib_, you idiot!" he spat, hissing when the other finally released him.

Oncie beamed, knowing the insult was to be taken lighter than usual. He inspected his friend, checking for any other injuries.

Aside from the broken bone and a torn suit, Greed looked surprisingly fine. Most importantly, the madness in his eyes was gone.

"...Why is there blood splattered on your clothes?" Greed interrupted his inspection as he sunk back to the black dirt.

The musician's face fell.

"...Mom's dead," he mumbled, looking away from his red-speckled clothes.

The industrialist blinked in surprise, then gave a dry laugh. "...Ah."

He slowly raised his head to look out at the field of mangled shrapnel. "So... I guess we really _are_ finished now."

"...Yeah."

"...Good." He let his head flop back with an exhausted sigh.

Greed felt the man crawl up beside him and draped an arm around the other's shoulders, letting him have his moment.

A warm wind shuffled both their hair as emerald eyes studied the grey sky above; watching as the smog swirled and billowed with the breeze. "...You could have just as easily stopped me the other way, you know. Some small part of me knew you were going for that axe because I hurt and killed so many things. ...Why did you let me live?"

Oncie gripped him tighter.

"It's what monsters do."


End file.
